It's a rite of passage for the Kiwi team to appear in front of NZ journalists before competition, but McCartney also found herself summoned in front of the world's media.

And what did she do? She took the chance to promote New Zealand.

"We come from a smaller side of the world, but especially New Zealand, I think we punch above our weight," she told the gathered masses.

Not even the British head of athletics, Australian head of Gold Coast 2018 and American head of the Commonwealth Games Federation can argue with what Kiwis already know about McCartney.

"She's young, she's engaging, she's talented and she comes from an athletics nation that really does have athletics at its heart," insists Lord Sebastian Coe, distance-running legend and now IAAF vice-president.

"And I've sense in the last few years there's a real renaissance in young talent coming through."